A World of Wonder
by Shi-chan13
Summary: Amu's life is going great until three simple words sent it crashing down. In a moment of depression, she runs. And ends up...where exactly? A cross of Shugo Chara! and Alice in Wonderland. Read as Amu comes to face her fears, her love, and herself. Amuto.
1. Chapter 1

Erin: Ok guys, I know I haven't updated in FOREVER. (Please don't kill me! o.O) But I'm working on the next few chapters of Lost Memories so yea...also I've been pretty busy with some stuff, but anyway! No more excuses. This story is basically a gift (or a bribe, lol) to all my readers who have kept waiting for my next chapters, and haven't given up on me! ;) Thanks guys!

Chapter 1: A Trip, A Tumble, A Fall

There was a light above her. It was so bright, but also a little blurred like she was seeing through something. She stretched out her hand, reaching for it and saw trails of bubbles leave the spaces between the fingers in front of her. With a jolt, the girl realized that the film between her and the light above was water and that she was drowning. Instinctively, she opened her mouth to breath air, but instead water came rushing in, flooding her lungs. She tried to cough it out and found that she couldn't. More water came streaming in each time she tried, filling her lungs with the salty liquid. Her limbs jerked this way and that, to somehow escape the watery grave embracing her, but her body just kept sinking, sinking, sinking...

And then the scene changed in a blink of an eye; the girl was laying on a dry, sandy beach, a boy breathing life back into her. She could feel the pressure of his lips against hers; the roughness of the boy's slightly chapped mouth, the warmth of his breath. The sun, the light she had seen from underwater, was blocked by his head. Hair hung in his face, obscuring his features. She couldn't be sure what color his hair was, but it seemed...

Amu bolted straight up, panting. Her breathe was jagged, coming and going in quick, sharp jabs. "Not that dream again!" She moaned. Flinging off the bed covers; she crossed to her vanity and slapped her cheeks, glaring at the reflection of the pink haired teen. "It's been 6 years! You're over him already, remember? Get a grip!" After fully scolding herself, 15 year old Hinamori Amu pulled on the uniform that was draped over the end of her bed. First, the white collar shirt, unbuttoned at the top two clasps. Second, the red and black plaid mini skirt. Then, the matching loose red tie. And finally a pair of black knee-high socks and her classic Chuck Taylor Converse covered her feet.. They were against the rules, but she really didn't care much for rules. To top it off she applied a touch of black eyeliner n mascara. Then she took the next 15 minutes straightening her hair. "Amu, this is a new school year," She pep-talked herself. "Don't start it out by thinking of the past."

Two voices, a girl and a boy, called up to Amu's room in perfect unison. "Onee-chan! Breakfast is ready!"

Amu grabbed her brown leather school bag lying against her closet and yanked her bedroom door open. "Coming! Be down in a sec." Slamming the door closed behind her she swung her legs over the railings of the second floor balcony and jumped. Arms above her head, she flew down to meet the ground, body slicing through the air for barely a second before her feet landed on the carpeted floor. Her balance was perfect as her full weight was put onto her feet. Her arms swept down to stretch full out on either side of her. "Perfect landing!" She said to her twin siblings Nadeshiko and Nagihiko, who were standing in front of her. "What do you guys rate it?"

Nadeshiko clapped her hands cheerfully. "A ten! Definitely you're best landing yet. You've improved so much! Nagihiko just squinted, scrutinizing his older sister of 3 years.

"What?" She asked.

"I don't know, maybe an eight? Or possibly a seven. Sorry, it was good, but I think it would be so much better if u could keep your skirt down while you jump. I don't really enjoy seeing my sister's underwear."

Amu stuck out her tongue. "Well-"

"I think it's not a turn off to see that. Then again," A tall boy said, leaning against the door frame of the house's open front door. "I'm not exactly her little brother, am I?" Though his cobalt eyes were almost completely covered by hair the exact shade as them, the smirk that spread across his lips was clearly visible.

"Ikuto-san!" Nagi and Nadeshiko ran to hug the boy, leaving Amu standing by the stairway.

She staggered foreword before clumsily righting herself. "I-Ikuto, you pervert! What are you saying? I mean, when did I give you permission to come in?"

In a few long strides, Ikuto had crossed the room and was towering over Amu by at least a good head. "Come on, Amu. You know me better. Since when do I need permission to come here?" He took another step closer and she did the same in the opposite direction. Somehow, she tripped and started falling backwards. Smoothly and seamlessly, Ikuto grabbed her hand and slid an arm around her waist. "See? If I hadn't let myself in, you'd be on the floor right now. I wouldn't have been here to catch you"

Amu stuttered. "Who would want y-you to catch them? You're t-too fast! Honestly, are you a cat or something?"

Nagihiko clapped a hand on Ikuto's shoulder. Even being 5 years younger than him, Nagi was only a few inches shy of Ikuto's 6 feet. "Don't tease her too much. Instead, do you want to come over for dinner? I got a new video game that we could try out. And plus, we all know you live alone. If it wasn't for Nadeshiko's cooking sometimes to save the day, you'd be eating ramen noodles every night."

Ikuto laughed. "You're right! At least my health isn't left up to Amu. She'd have me eating burnt food with her cooking skills." With that comment came a bright smile form Nadeshiko and a sound kick in the shin from Amu. Grimacing, Ikuto looked at Amu.

"Well..."She said, hesitating. "Oka-san won't be home until late so I don't know-

"That's great! She's never here anyway, what with Utau's recording and all her omnais."

"Yes," Nadeshiko joined in, moving from the door to stand next to Nagi. "It would be fun. Plus, I always make too much so Ikuto can bring some home."

"Amu?" Ikuto leaned towards the pink haired girl. "Do I need your _permission_?"

Amu looked like she was about to snap back a witty retort, but then laughed. "Fine! Seriously, it's not like I could stop you anyway."

"Why thank you." Ikuto said. "Now I guess this cat will be heading for school." He scooped up two backpacks and headed for the door.

"What a punk." Amu said smiling.

"Ah, nee-san," Nagi pointed at the boy crossing their threshold. "He took your bag too."

"Ah! Ikuto!" Amu ran charging after him. At the door, she tripped and had to be caught by Ikuto. Again.

Nadeshiko giggled at the scene. "How is it that every time Ikuto's around, Amu suddenly becomes so klutzy?

"Because Amu's so easy to tease," her twin replied.

"Probably. Oh, and she forgot to eat breakfast. Perfect." The two purple haired twins sighed as they left the house for their own school.

Amu chased Ikuto down the street. "Ikuto! Give me my bag back!" She was on his heels when he spun around n stopped dead. Not having any time to slow, Amu ran straight into his chest. "Careful," Ikuto said, steadying her. "You might just fall again."

Instead of her normal furious blushing, Amu wrenched her bag out of Ikuto's hand and stuck out her tongue. "Shut up! It's your fault anyway. Oh yeah," she poked his cheek. "Baka! Last one to school buys takiyaki for tonight!" Amu ran off with Ikuto closely pursuing her. When he was sure she wouldn't look back, Ikuto turned off into a side alley. Five minutes later, and enraged Amu was yelling at Ikuto who was sitting on the school's surrounding brick wall. "How did you get here before me?"

He jumped down, landing lightly on his feet in front of Amu. "What can I say? I know the city's back ways like the back of my own hand. I'm an alley cat, remember? Oh, aren't those your friends?"

A brown haired boy and a girl with pig tails who was licking a lollipop. "Kukai! Yaya!" Amu waved to the two teenagers. She turned back to say something to Ikuto, but she was gone. And no matter how tall he was or how unique his hair color was, she couldn't spot him. He had disappeared. "Good bye, then," She whispered.

By then, Kukai and Yaya had met up with Amu. "Amu-chi, who was that?" Yaya asked in between licking her candy.

"Oh, he's just someone who lives around my neighborhood. I've told you guys about him already. His name is Tsukiyomi Ikuto."

"WHAT? THE Tsukiyomi Ikuto? You never told me you knew him!" In her excitement, Yaya dropped her lollipop, but it went unnoticed on the courtyard stones. "He's only like the hottest and most sought after guy in the school! And he hangs out with the only the most elite of the school! How do you know him?"

Amu was taken aback at the sudden interrogation. "Like I said, he's only a guy who lives around my neighborhood. Ikuto's a punk who always barges into my house without permission and appears out of nowhere. Why would anyone ever like him?"

"It's his distant personality! It makes him untouchable, which just peaks the girls' interests even more," Kukai slammed a hand down on Amu's shoulder. She winced on impact. "But that's just like Amu, going for her senpai, which could very well work with how friendly you two were acting towards each other. " He winked at his friend.

"D-don't be stupid! And besides," She sighed, her eyes lingering on a blond boy making his way through the ever growing school crowd. "You guys already know who I like."

"Ah! The famous Hotori Tadase. They say his fan club was over 200 in his last year of middle school. Think what it'll be in high school and he's only a freshman like you two. You've got a lot of competition, Amu." Kukai paused for a moment while he fended off a bombardment of punches from Amu while Yaya was clapping gleefully on the side lines. Escaping Amu's wrath, he smoothed back his naturally spiky hair (which just stood back up anyway) and puffed out his chest. "Though the reason why all those girls fall for younger guys is out of my reach. After all, wouldn't a wiser 2nd year like me be better?"

"Shut up, _oji-san_," the two girls said together. "You look like an ugly puffer fish," Amu added.

"Ouch, double attack. There goes my self esteem."

"Yeah, right. It'd take a lot more than my sarcasm to put a dent in your ego."

"So true."

The warning bell rang and the three friends went into the building, moaning about the first day back to school and how boring it would be.

Amu stared out the classroom window and blocked out her teacher's excessive ranting, her head supported on her hand. The dream from the night before was still bothering her. She hadn't had that dream for a year. Her mind drifted back to the day it had occurred. It had happened so long ago...

It was the first day of school and Amu was 9 years old. Amu's parents had dropped her off extremely early because of some appointment Utau had and she hadn't seen any of her friends yet so she was sitting on the dock of the lake that was behind her school. She was playing with a small doll that she had planned to give Nadeshiko for her birthday when she fell asleep, tired from staying up too late the night before. Next thing she knew, she was opening her eyes to a world under water. She started panicking. A cord of algae caught her leg and she couldn't get free. Amu's eyes started to close into unconsciousness. And then the boy came.

He was her rescuer. A few years older, he was stronger and able to do what Amu couldn't. He had pulled her free from the algae and the water, onto the sandy bank of the lake. There he breathed life back into her and when he succeeded in getting her breathing, he disappeared. Amu could never forget the boy. He was her first love and because she could never forget him, she dreamed of that day every night on the first day of school. There wasn't a year she didn't, but Amu kept on wishing there would be one, so she could forget him and move onto a new love. She blushed as she remembered Tadase. Fantasies filled her head of what could be when the teacher's ranting changed to yelling.

Noticing who the words were directed at, Amu jumped up from her chair. "HEY! Shut up!" The teacher gave her such a look of shock, hate, and anger that, even though she remained confident on the outside, Amu quelled a little on the inside. _Oh crap..._

It was after school and the classroom was empty except for Amu and Yaya. Yaya had been the one the teacher had been yelling at. She had gotten humiliated be being brought up to the front of the class and yelled at for forgetting to do a few math problems and Amu had gotten in trouble for yelling at their teacher when _his_ yelling made Yaya start to cry. As punishment, they were being made to clean the entire classroom; chalkboard, windows, floor and desks. Amu grumbled at the unfairness with a few coherent phrases such as 'hope he goes bald' and 'let's make _him_ cry. That'll teach him.'

A whisper reached Amu's ear, just barely audible over Yaya, who had fallen asleep standing up and was now snoring. "Pst, Amu. Psssttt!" She looked around for the source. Then Yaya jerked awake from her slumber. "I'm cleaning, Sensei, I'm cleaning!"

There was a loud thump and Kukai appeared, lying curled up in a ball by the door, laughing so hard there were tears in his eyes. "I'm cleaning, Sensei," he mimicked Yaya in a high voice that sounded nothing like her. "I'm cleaning! Oh man, Yaya, you're such a loser!"

"Kukai! Why haven't you gone home yet?" Amu demanded while Yaya helped Kukai up off the floor after throwing a chalk eraser at his head.

"I'm here," he pulled 3 rolls of plastic wrap and 3 cans of spray paint from his backpack. "Because of this." He winked at the girls. "Pay back for making my friend cry."

The two girls grinned at each other and then turned back to Kukai. "When is this thing going down?"

In the shadows of the school, Kukai, Amu, and Yaya were crouched behind the bushes next to the teacher's parking lot. Kukai turned to his friends. "Ok, so here's the deal. This is going to take a little while. We could very well get caught. You guys still in? Good. This is the plan. See that car over there?" He pointed to a small white BMW only a few yards away. "That's Sensei's car. What we're going to do is..."

Thirty minutes later the white BMW wasn't so white anymore. After completely covering it with plastic wrap so not a spot was unprotected, (Kukai had insisted, his reasoning being that if they did get caught he didn't want to have to pay for a new paint job), Kukai had passed around the paint. Now there were blue, green, and red sentences (and some pretty colorful language) all over the exterior of the car. The three teens surveyed their handiwork from the same shadowy spot where they had planned their crime. "That's awesome!" Kukai high fived Amu and Yaya. "But, uh, Yaya, 'meanie' doesn't really get across your anger. Oh well, let's go guys."

"Wait!" Amu pulled out her phone. "What's the good of a prank if no one knows about it?" She took photos of their masterpiece from all angles. "Now, type a message. How about: 'We'll do this to you if you mess with our friends.' Ok, and then use star-67 so I'm anonymous and forward to all contacts. That'll teach that jerk a lesson." She grinned. "Ok, _now_ we can go."

At the front gate, they parted ways. Amu slung her bag over her shoulder and began walking home. Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized the figure up ahead. She ran to catch up. "Tadase-kun!"

"Hinamori-san, hello." Tadase stopped and waited for her.

She smiled at her crush. "You're walking home today. You haven't lately," They started walking again. "But why were you still at school?"

"Oh, that's because I had some student council duties to take care of. What about you?"

"Uh..." Amu hesitated. "I had to um, study, yeah, for my math teacher's class."

"I see."

They walked in silence until they reached Amu's house. She mentally beat herself for wasting such a good opportunity to talk. As she shut her front gate behind her, Tadase spoke. "Um, Hinamori-san, I was wondering, is Utau-san going to be home today?"

Amu's heart sank at the mention of her gorgeous older sister. _Why can't you ask something about me!_ It wasn't that she hated her sister, in fact she really admired her, but she didn't want Tadase falling for her. It took a lot of effort to just shrug and say, "I don't know. I think she was going to be recording a song."

"O-oh, well, if you see her, tell her I said hi, ok?"

"Sure."

Tadase left and Amu walked into her house slightly sad. She greeted the twins sitting on the living room couch and went into the kitchen hoping her mom hadn't forgotten to get groceries again and there would be something besides leftovers in the fridge. Except someone was already there. "Yo," Ikuto said, after drinking from the milk carton.

"AHHH!"

Nagi and Nadeshiko ran into the room at hearing Amu's scream. They found her sitting on the floor, obviously having fallen. Ikuto was laughing almost hysterically, supporting himself on the counter. "What are you doing here?" Amu yelled, out of breath from freight.

"Nagi invited me, remember?" Ikuto reminded her, still chuckling. Now that they what was the cause of the commotion, the twins went back to the living room, shaking their heads at the antics of their older sister.

"I know, but holy crap, you scared me!"

"Apparently," Ikuto said dryly. He grabbed Amu's hand and helped her up. "Hey, you lost this morning, did you buy the takiyaki?"

"Dang! I forgot." She ran upstairs to grab her wallet out of her room. "I'll get it now."

He followed her up, "Ok, but I'm coming with you. Hurry up though; it's already 5:00. How long does it take you to walk home?"

"Um...a while?" Amu whispered in Ikuto's ear. "Actually, I got in a little trouble, but I'll tell you about it later. Nadeshiko will kill me if she finds out." Ikuto nodded, entering her room. "Hey! Get out," she commanded, shutting the door in his face. "I've sort got to change out of my uniform!"

"That's not an issue for me."

"Pervert," he heard through the door. Ikuto smirked.

A moment later, Amu came out in the hall wearing a pair of shorts, a Plain White T's shirt, and a pair of white and black checkered suspenders. "That was quick." Ikuto commented on her shirt. "Plain White T's, they're American. I like them."

"Huh? You like Plain White T's?" Amu repeated. I never would have guessed we both know English, let alone have the same taste in music. Cool. Ok, let's go."

They waved goodbye to Nagi and Nadeshiko and began walking to a connivance store about 10 minutes from Amu's house. About half way down the street, Ikuto pulled a mp3 player from his pants pocket. He tucked one headphone in his ear and held the other out for Amu. "You wanna listen?" She shrugged and put the ear bud in.

"I know this song!" She smiled happily. "Plain White T's, right?"

"Yeah." Ikuto smiled. "How about you sing it for me?"

Amu blushed. "No, I couldn't. Plus, Utau's the one with the voice."

"If your sister has such a great voice than I'm sure you do too. Just sing, ok?"

"Ok..." Amu agreed hesitantly.

_Imagine a place where you can escape to, _

_An island off the coast of nowhere. _

_A new destination, of your own creation, just waiting 'til you choose to go there._

_Blue treetops and velvet skies! Blue ready to blow your mind! _

_Oooo. _

_This is the place where your mind can escape_

_All the problems today and go far, far away. _

_This is a town with no history! Welcome to Mystery!_

Amu's voice rang clear and beautiful on the last note, but wavered as her eyes met Ikuto's. Her face flushed, embarrassed. "S-sorry, it wasn't that good."

"No," Ikuto said. "It was amazing. You were amazing."

They stood there in an awkward silence, not wanting to meet each other's eyes, yet unable to avoid them. Neither had even noticed that they had stopped moving until the wail of a police siren broke the silence. Amu blinked. The boy from her dream flashed through her mind and then was gone. "Uhhh...thanks."

"Utau-chan!"

Ikuto and Amu looked down the street to a corner where the shout had come from. They could just barely make out the two figures standing there. It was Tadase and Utau, Amu's older sister. Tadase's yelling drifted down to them. "But why not, Utau-shan?" there was a pause which must have been Utau talking, and then Tadase could be heard again. "I love you!"

The world crashed around Amu. Her heat stuttered and then beat twice as fast. She sucked in a ragged breath, her chest shaking. Suddenly, Ikuto was too close. The buildings surrounding her seemed to lean in, enclosing her, trapping her. The air seemed all too there, too dense, and yet there was no air for Amu to breathe. She had to get away. Water filled her eyes and a single tear spilled over onto her cheek. She couldn't stay there. Another fell. She had to escape. And another. She ran.

Her legs received the signal and took off before Amu herself, could realize what was happening. And when she did, all she knew was that her legs were taking her to safety, away from that place, away from those words. The buildings blurred as she ran past, melting into a solid wall that seemed to laugh at her saying she would never get away. Unaware of her surroundings, Amu entered a construction site. All she cared about was getting as far away from him and those three words as possible. Those three words. How she had wanted to hear them! Now, she just wanted them gone, those words that were spoken from the very mouth she had wanted to hear. She hated those three words and the voice that had brought her world into chaos with them.

"Amu...wait," a voice panted behind her. She whirled around. Ikuto was bent over, breathing hard just yards away from her. He straightened. "Why did you run away?"

"T-that's none of your business!" She wanted him gone. She wanted to be alone. Amu staggered back and covered her tear streaked face. "Go away! You shouldn't have followed me!"

"Amu, stop!" Ikuto yelled at her with wild desperation. He reached out to her and stepped closer. "Come here, quickly."

"No! I don't want to!"

She wanted him to leave. If only he would leave... She took another step from him.

"Amu!"

And then her world was tipping. One second Ikuto was standing before her and the next darkness was swallowing her on all sides, slowly closing the sky from her view. _Oh, so this is why Ikuto wanted me to come to him. There was a hole._ She heard Ikuto cry her name before she hit the bottom and fainted.

"AMU!"

Erin: YAY! Dramatic cliff hanger! So I really hope you guys like the first chapter! Like I said, this is sort of a bribe to keep reading my stuff and stay patient! There's going to be more, I promise. :) But that's not going to happen if people don't write reviews! So press that button! (I don't care if it's anonymous.) but do it! or else =) haha.


	2. Chapter 2

Erin: So sorry for not updating this. Especially since I only ever updated one chapter of this...lol. It's sorta long, but I really hope you enjoy!

Also, remember that these characters do not have the same relations as in the anime or manga. I have taken liberties as to sibling relations and things like that. But I hope that it doesn't turn you off to the story! Not to toot my own horn, but I really like my plot line ;D

Disclaimer: Don't own shugo chara or alice in wonderland.

* * *

Chapter 2: Wonderland

Something sharp was stabbing Amu in the back. _It's probably a broken bone, _she thought calmly, remembering the incident moments before. She replayed the scene on a loop in her head. Ikuto's pleas, the hole...Amu supposed she was dead. But if this was death, then it was rather uncomfortable and really noisy. Something fuzzy was creeping across Amu...

Amu bolted up into a sitting position, her eyes flying open. On her arm was a fat caterpillar. With a shriek, she flung it off. It crawled away, grumbling about flaky girls. Amu froze where she sat. A caterpillar talking? She most definitely was dead. Knowing this somewhat calmed her. Looking around, she noticed that she was sitting in the middle of a clearing. Around her stood tall, but thin trees, suggesting that the wood she was in was fairly young. A cushion of green moss covered the patch of ground she was sitting on. "What?" Her voice sounded strange to her ear; a disembodied and distant version of herself. "Wow, death is sorta weird. I wonder if I'll always sound like this." Just then, her ears popped, as if she was in a high altitude. "Well, I guess I won't."

A rustle in the undergrowth caused Amu to freeze. "Hello?" She called out to the noise. No one answered. A bush to her right twitched. Amu grabbed a fallen branch nearby and clambered to her feet. "I'm warning you, whoever you are. I'm armed!" The bush moved more; it parted a little. Something was climbing out. Amu tried to scream, but her voice caught in her throat. _Is this when the Devil comes to take me?_ Her mind cried. The source of the noise was coming into view. _Oh man! Wait, I want to live! I-I..._

A furry little rabbit climbed into sight, it's white fur spotted with leaves. The strange thing about the small creature was that it stood on its two hind legs and wore a red cotton vest with tiny brass buttons up the front. "You're kidding me? I was afraid of _this_?" Amu questioned herself. What was even more strange about the little rabbit was that Amu didn't find it strange at all. The not so strange rabbit hopped over to Amu and grabbed her hand. Then it quickly pulled a gold pocket watch from it's vest, glanced at it's hands and then put it away just as quickly as it had been taken out. "You're not dead, but there's no time for chit chat! Come on, Alice." He pulled Amu behind him through the trees. "We're late! No time to spare. The Hatter will have a fit! Oh come on, hurry it up."

_Not dead?_ Amu let herself be tugged along. _Where have I heard that bunny's voice?_ It was some time before he, the rabbit, led them to a small cottage. Only then did Amu connect with reality-or whatever was currently reality. "W-wait! You called me Alice. I'm Amu-

"Not time to talk, we're late, very late!"

Amu was dragged into the cottage. Inside, it consisted of only one room with a simple pine table placed directly in the center. Two glass bottles stood on the table. "Um, why are we here?" Amu asked the strange animal. Her thoughts were still bothered and the familiarity of the rabbit's voice, but it was impossible for her to have heard it before this meeting. After all, it's not every day that you meet a talking rabbit.

It hopped over to the bottles. Looking closely, Amu saw that they were filled with what looked like a clear watered down syrup. One was tossed to her and she clumsily caught it. "Well?" The bunny said. "Drink, Alice, drink!" He chugged down the other. When Amu opened hers, it began to froth and bubble, much like a soda can that's been shaken and then suddenly opened. She eyed it doubtfully and then swallowed, her throat dry. _Bottoms up_, she thought.

Immediately, a tingling coursed through her whole body. It started in her chest and then spread down her arms and legs and travelled all the way to the roots of her pink hair. And then she began to shrink. It was an odd sensation, looking down at yourself and seeing parts out of proportion with others. Soon she and the rabbit were no bigger than the bottles themselves. The rabbit pulled her towards a wall now very much larger than an average wall and to a door that Amu didn't notice before. It was a quite average looking door, proportioned to Amu as any normal door would be. The only issue was, Amu wasn't sure what was normal and what wasn't anymore. The rabbit knocked on the wood and stood back. "Door, open please. It's Rabbit. I've got to get to the Hatter. She's with me and we are very late!"

There was a loud creak and the door began to distort. The creak soon became a crescendo of groans and wood splinters flying in the air. And then suddenly, it stopped. On the door, made out of the knots in the grain, was a face. Amu froze. She had never seen a door with a face before. The eyes blinked twice before the mouth opened in a loud yawn. "Hello Rabbit! Didn't I already open for you today? The Hatter, you say? Why in the name of the White Queen would you want to visit that mad man? And who would this girl with you be?" His booming voice echoed off the cottages now giant walls, making Amu's ears hurt.

Rabbit huffed and checked his watch again. "It is _she._ Now come on, we're late, too late!"

"She? _She!_ She as in Alice? She's Alice?"

"Yes, now let us pass!"

With a small click, Door unlocked itself and creaked open. "Alice, of all people! Why didn't you say so? Go! We don't want to be late, now do we?"

A squeal escaped from Amu's lips as Rabbit hopped through the doorway, all the while pulling her along. "It was an honor letting you through! Goodbye, Alice!" Door called as he swung shut with another chorus of creaks, leaving Amu staring at a door that now looked like any other ordinary door again. Rabbit yanked on her hand impatiently. "I'm sorry, Alice, but this is no time to dawdle. The Hatter awaits!" And off they went again.

A tunnel led from the Door, it's walls casting strange, fluid shadows across the two hurried traveller's path. Amu was sure that some of the creeping shapes belonged not to the walls, but to some grotesque creatures. "W-what is this place?" She stammered while trying to stay close to Rabbit.

"This place? Oh, we call it NO PLACE. When you're here, you're not there or here, nor hither or thither. You're NO PLACE! But what am I saying? There's no time for explanations. Have I mentioned we're late?" Towing a thoroughly confused young woman, Rabbit hurried through NO PLACE. "Oh, look! There's the exit. That door there. Yes, yes, good. But we're still late!"

The repetitive rabbit only continued to confuse Amu because, to her, there wasn't a "that door there." She looked, and squinted, and craned her neck, but she still couldn't find a door. Rabbit pulled her to the side (or what she thought was the side) of NO PLACE and then, suddenly, Amu could see a door. "I really hope this one doesn't talk," she whispered to herself. Lucky for her and her sanity, this door did not talk. Rabbit briskly opened the door and led Amu through after him. The door swung shut with a finalizing thud. But a door that closes by itself was given no attention because all of Amu's focus was on the scene before her.

A dense forest stretched out in all directions, thick with ancient trees whose branches seemed to scrape the very sky. For all Amu knew, they really did, towering over her as they did. She spun around and was surprised to see the door to NO PLACE. Except it had no walls, no room it was connected to as far as she could tell; it was just a lone door, standing erect on the mossy forest floor. Amu stepped forward to touch it, but jumped back when a small voice yelled at her. "Hey, watch it Lady! I'm walkin' here!"

Amu whipped her around, looking for the voice. "Where are you? Who just talked?"

The tiny voice was heard again. "Down here, dimwit! What, you part flower or somethin'?" The pink-haired girl looked down in shock. Right where her foot had almost landed a moment ago was a squirrel shaking his tiny fists at her. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there. Wait, you're a talking squirrel?"

Rabbit huffed at the squirrel. "Nut gatherer, that is no way to talk to a lady, much less Alice herself!"

Amu tried to interject. "But I'm not Al-"

"Oh, Alice is she?" The squirrel asked sarcastically. "Well, Alice of no, a giant like her should be lookin' where she steps. Almost got me tail, her foot did! Where does she get off, wearin' an outlandish get up like that anyhows? Amu shuffled her converse-clad toes self-consciously. She didn't think her clothes were weird. "And this girly is suppose to help Wonderland? Ha! I'd be me best pile o' nuts against that." With that, the grumpy squirrel skittered away, up a tree and was lost in the canopy of leaves overhead.

"Don't listen to a sour puss like him. His tail is always ruffled." Rabbit patted Amu's hand in a gesture of comfort, reminding her of someone that she couldn't quite figure out. The funny animal's watch started to vibrate until Rabbit pulled away to check it. "Oh no! We're late!" That repetitive declaration set them on their course again, with Rabbit leading Amu along swiftly.

Some time later, the two companions were still trudging through the forest undergrowth when Amu could hear a faint noise. "Do you hear that, Rabbit?"

"Leave it alone, Alice," Rabbit grumbled. "Pay no attention and he'll go away."

"I told you I'm not Alice!" Amu protested her new name. "What do you mean by he? Listen! There it is again. Sounds like...purring? It's almost like a-"

"No, Alice!" Rabbit jumped frantically to cover her mouth.

"-a cat."

A scream pierced the quiet forest air. Amu took a deep breath for another yell when she found herself in the arms of a teenage boy. "Aw, all I did was come when you called and this is what I get? Hardly a warm welcome, Alice."

"My-my name is A-Amu," she managed to stutter out.

"Hmm, _Amu_. I quite like that. More than Alice." The boy purred in her ear causing Amu to flush all shades of red and scramble out of his embrace to crouch next to Rabbit. From that distance, it was possible to see all of the boy. His hair was a deep blue, almost cobalt. He wore a purple tunic over black breeches with a fur lined, knee length overcoat. Most notable, though, were the blue ears and tail he sported, which twitched playfully. His face was completely obscured by an elaborately painted cat mask from which peared eyes of a deep blue that matched his hair, ears, and tail. Again, as was the case with Rabbit, this feline-featured young man seemed all too familiar, but Amu was still unable to place from where she knew him. "Who are you?" she demanded of him.

Rabbit waved his arms, his nose wrinkled dismissively. "No one, he's no one!"

The young man laughed and Amu had the distinct feeling, despite the mask in the way, that he was smirking. It cause her heart to ache slightly. She wondered why. Jumping into the air and landing close to Amu, bordering on invasion of personal space, the feline winked. "The name is Cheshire Cat, thought most people call me Cat. You, however, can call me Chesh, Miss Not -Alice." Amu turned red again.

"Enough! Cat, no one actually called you and you knot it!" Rabbit chittered angrily. "Besides, Alice does not need you as a distraction. We are late to see that Hatter!"

"What do you mean 'called him'?" Amu in quired of Rabbit, momentarily distracted from the little amount of space between Chesh and her.

"Oh, come off it, Rabbit. You're always late even when you're not. But the Hatter, you say? That mad man? Great! I have an appointment with him as well." Amu thought that he was definitely smirking this time, his eyes screaming mischief. "I'll take you two."

Rabbit hopped up and down, obviously distressed. "Oh, no you certainly will not! Don't trust a stray cat like him, Alice!"

"Too late." Chesh winked behind his mask. Plopping Rabbit into Amu's lap and then swinging the more than startled girl into his arms, the cat jumped into the air, kicking off branched as Amu's screams were carried away on the wind behind them.

* * *

Erin: Yea! Done with that chapter! Ok, so I'm sorry if my writing style noticeably changed throughout the chapter. I wrote the beginning (I think) almost a year ago and so I've changed the way I write (obviously, that's just called development.) But I really hope you enjoyed reading it! As always, I am open to any _**constructive**_ criticism. You guys know the deal. Don't be mean, but if there were mistakes or something that bothered you, please tell me!

Remember to read and review! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated guys! Thanks again for reading. Wait for my next chapter of Lost Memories to come out soon!


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